Friday, October 3, 2008

Samsung Friday: Every Day Is Moving Day

The pairings for the 2nd round at the Samsung World Championship showcase some good drama. Not just a repeat showdown between Ochoa and Sorenstam, but the top 2 rookies, Tseng and Choi, go head-to-head, as well. And in a race to avoid last place, Angela and Inbee Park, former Futures Tour best friends whose relationship has cooled in recent months, are 1st off the 1st today. And as we should get used to seeing Ji-Yai Shin and Paula Creamer paired together on many many weekends down the road, this is a good chance for them to size each other up.

Too early to tell how scoring is going to be, although Hull, Ji, Alfredsson, and Han are off to good starts. More later!

[Update 1 (4:42 pm): Sun-Ju Ahn won this week's Samsung KLPGA event--her 1st win on tour this season, and a great follow-up to being the medalist at Mission Hills.]

[Update 2 (7:50 pm): Ji-Yai Shin isn't living up to Ahn's example today. She's having the exact opposite round as Thursday's--6 bogeys interrupted only by a single birdie so far on the 14th hole. She's back to E, 6 shots off the lead set by Angela Stanford, who bogeyed her 1st 2 holes but got a double eagle on the par-5 4th and has followed it up with 2 more birdies.]

[Update 3 (7:57 pm): Whoa! Lorena Ochoa made 5 straight birdies on the front but then made 2 doubles and a bogey over the next 8 holes to fall right back where she started the day: -3. Weirdness.]

[Update 4 (8:00 pm): Inbee Park had a terrible round going but birdied 3 of her last 4 holes to get back to E on the day and +5 for the tournament, ensuring that she won't play with Angela Park tomorrow (Karrie Webb shares basement duties with her). BTW, both Ahn and Stanford bogeyed since my last update.]

[Update 5 (8:08 pm): Seon Hwa Lee had the round of the day, thanks to the 3 birdies and no bogeys over her final 11 holes that earned her a 69 and got her back to E for the tournament. Her steadiness since a shaky front 9 Thursday could serve her well on a course that leads to such volatility as Ya Ni Tseng's bogey-par-triple-bogey-par stretch closing out the front (she's since birdied 2 holes on the back to get back to -1 for the tournament).]

[Update 7 (8:13 pm): What the heck is going on here? Angela Stanford just doubled the par-3 17th to fall back to a tie for 1st with Na Yeon Choi, who's given back her 2 birdies on the front with consecutive bogeys on the back to fall back to -3 for the tournament.]

[Update 8 (8:18 pm): Wow, even steady players like Song-Hee Kim and Paula Creamer are getting bogeyitis late in their rounds. Creamer birdied 2 of her 1st 4 holes before rattling off 4 bogeys, 3 in her last 5 holes. She's -2 with 2 holes to go, as is Kim, who just bogeyed the 17th as she bogeyed the 8th.]

[Update 9 (9:02 pm): Wow, just wow. Nobody was able to break 70 twice and only the leader (Na Yeon Choi at -4) was able to go under par twice. What a weird day!]

[Update 10 (10/5/08, 12:48 am): As my lone commenter points out and both Hound Dog, the LPGA, and the AP corroborate, the weather conditions had a lot to do with the weirdness on Friday. Also, Annika got stung by a wasp she tried to kill early in her round, while Stanford is dealing with a mystery long-term shoulder injury that's been fklaring up the last couple of weeks.]